Politics & Government

West Deptford Power Plant Set to Go in 2012

West Deptford Energy, LLC will begin construction early next year.

The deal is done.

With financing in place and a land deal finalized, West Deptford Energy LLC will start building its planned 738-megawatt natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant early in 2012, the company officially announced Wednesday.

“This is a great day for Gloucester County,” state Senate President Stephen Sweeney said. “The construction of this facility means 650 construction jobs and $107 million in PILOT payments. We need to get people back to work and keep taxes under control.”

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The power plant is culmination of more than five years of work, from site planning to environmental permits to numerous regulatory hurdles, and West Deptford Township Administrator Eric Campo said it’s been busy lately, as the township and company worked together to tie up some of the loose ends.

“We really had to devote attention to that, but we were happy to do it,” he said. “It's been a lot of work, but it'll be well worth for the town, for employment and for the overall region.”

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Campo’s statements were echoed by Tom Hoatson, director of project development for LS Power, West Deptford Energy’s parent company.

“This is an important project in many ways,” Hoatson said. “We will add a clean and cost-efficient power generation resource in New Jersey, while supporting the local economy.”

The announced size of the project, at 738 megawatts, is somewhat larger than what the company planned at , when it indicated the plant would be 620 megawatts, built in three power blocks over several years.

Clint Allen, the company’s attorney, indicated at that time the plant would start operating with the first block in place, and could be completely functional without the addition of the second two, which could come online years after the initial project.

Since that final site plan approval back on Dec. 21, 2010, the company has hit a few roadblocks, including and the for the plant.

West Deptford Energy ended up ponying up $1 million to keep the land agreement open with the county, which otherwise would’ve expired in the summer.

The 302 acres off Paradise Road come with a price tag of $14 million, meaning the county will net about $4.7 million from the deal. Freeholder Director Robert Damminger said that money can be plowed back into local programs.

“A portion of this new revenue can be used to fund the county’s economic development program, creating even more jobs and ratables that benefit all county taxpayers,” he said.

The land has essentially been vacant, though the remnants of a partially-constructed power plant–a trio of buildings, apparently cooling blocks–sit on its north end. Property sales records show ownership bounced between subsidiaries of two California-based energy companies–Southern California Edison and PG&E–over the last two decades.

And as the land deal was being finalized, company officials finished off some minor details at the township level.

LS Power representatives came to the planning board earlier this month to make a few subtle changes–keeping a structure that's on the property currently, instead of demolishing and replacing it–which could've been handled administratively, planning board vice chair Michael McManamy said.

“They wanted everything above-board, because it’s a power plant,” he said. “They told us they were running.”

All of the action points to a company able to follow through the plan to fruition, Campo said.

“This group really does know this business,” he said. “This is really the final step.”

Construction is tentatively slated to start in March 2012, though Campo said the company could begin clearing the site ahead of that. The plant would produce power starting about two years after breaking ground, some time in 2014.

The $107 million Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) payments associated with the plant would be split between the township and the county, with West Deptford getting 90 percent, or about $96.3 million, over a 30-year period.


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